The Spider
by lemurs366
Summary: When Hermione gets badly hurt, there's really only one person who can help her. what will blossom in the recovery room? Rated T because of detailed injury description and possibly worse. Mentions of sorta drugs use? But not really?
1. Chapter 1

**The Spider**

Before I start with this little story of mine, I guess I should bring you all up to speed. It was our 7th and last year at Hogwarts, the war was over, people were dead, but we were alive. I had broken up with Ron, because we just didn't get along, and I didn't love him. I had tried, tried _really_ hard to love him, to forgive him every time he did or said something stupid or hurtful, but I couldn't continue after the war. It felt too much like a lie, and after all we'd both been through, I figured we both deserved better. Ron agreed, and we are now merely best friends like we were before. Though I think he may still have feelings for me.

Harry is currently no longer with Ginny, I'm not sure why they ending things, but they did, and anyway, they both seem relatively happy, considering the loss we'd all endured.

So, back to the beginning of the story; It was October, and Ron, Harry and I were all sitting by the fire in the Common room.

Then Ron saw it. _Tegenaria domestica_. A common house spider found in the UK. Ron gasped when he saw it and immediately pulled out his wand to kill it.

By this time Harry and I had seen the spider Ron was reacting to and I quickly realized what Ron was about to do.

"Don't!" I shouted, springing up from my seat by the fire, and walking over to where the spider was standing, beside a side-table near Ron.

"Why not? It's just a disgusting spider?" replied Ron, aiming his wand. 

"Because," I replied, "it has just as much of a right to life as you or I do. And it's not like it's hurting anyone"

Ronald, however, had stopped listening, and I can only assume this was because he was thinking of what spell to use, because instead of replying to me, I saw him point his wand again at the spider. 

Just as Ron shouted, "Incendio!", I reached out my hand to pick up the spider, meaning to put it outside.

The curse hit my left hand, and immediately my hand went up in flame.

I screamed. Then I did what most muggle children were trained to do when on fire.

I stopped.

I dropped.

And I rolled.

Which quickly put out the flame, even as Harry rushed over to me and cast Aguamenti, spraying water onto me.

Ron, who hadn't moved since saying the curse, asked, in a quavery voice, "Hermione, are- are you okay?"

After which Harry said, putting his hand on my shoulder, "Show me 'Mione, that looked bad."

I pulled away from Harry, and replied, "Um, you know, I think – I think maybe I should go see madam Pomfrey. It's - it's kind of bad, Ron, you might not want to see." Ron was notoriously bad with gore, being in the war had only lowered his tolerance for blood and wounds.

"Oh Merlin Hermione, I'm so sorry, let me take you to the hospital wing-" Ron started, Harry cut him off, saying harshly, "Don't you think you've done enough Ron? What the hell were you thinking?" Harry was angry, really angry, and I couldn't really understand why.

Before Ron could reply, Harry put his arm around my shoulder and steered me out of the common room, towards the hospital wing, all the while trying to heal my hand, with no results, magical fire burns can't be healed by any spell. They had to be treated the old fashioned, muggle way. I have to hand it to Harry, he handled the sight of my hand well, because it didn't look good. My entire hand was black, and the skin was peeling off.

I was in a lot of pain, and I started to feel faint. I was told after that I started to go into shock. Which is generally not a good thing.

"H-harry?" I said weakly, "I'm not sure how long I can keep this up. . ." As I spoke, I felt my knees give way, and I started to fall, only to be caught by Harry before I could hit the ground, his wiry frame easily supporting me. Without a word, Harry swept me off my feet, and carried on towards the hospital wing. Ron was trailing behind us.

I passed out before we reached madam Pomfrey, and I woke up an hour later in the hospital wing.

The first thing my brain registered when I woke up was the pain. The second thing I noticed was that someone was holding my right, uninjured hand. I opened my eyes to see Harry sitting at my side, holding my hand with a worried expression on his face.

"Hey there," he said softly.

"Hi." I replied, my voice raspy from sleep.

"How do you feel?" He asked, looking concerned, "Are you in pain? Should I got get Madam Pomfrey?" As he said that, he started to rise out of his seat.

My hand (the uninjured one) shot out and grabbed his arm. The other hand was swathed in bandages.

"I'm fine, really. The pain is minimal," I lied.

I've never been a very good liar.

Harry called me out, "Liar," he said, "you're in a lot pain, I can tell. Let me go get madam Pomfrey, I'm sure she'll be able to help."

I smiled grimly.

"Harry, the thing about Incendio is that when it burns flesh, there's not much any magic can do to help with the healing or the pain. I think magic can speed the healing up slightly, that is, the regrowth of tissue, but only the strongest pain management potions and spells have any effect."

"Then I guess madam Pomfrey will have to use the strongest magics to help. I'll go get her."

I whimpered, I didn't want to be alone.

"I'll be right back, Ron can be here in the mean time." He said.

"Ron!" He called.

Ron popped his head into the curtains surrounding my hospital bed.

"She's awake?"

"Yeah, can you stay with her while I go get Madam Pomfrey?" Harry asked.

Ron looked conflicted, "Um, it kinda looks like she wants you to stay mate. How 'bout I go get Madam Pomfrey instead?"

Harry sighed, i assumed with relief, and said, "that would be great, thanks."

So i continued to hold on to Harry until Madam Pomfrey arrived and started fussing over me.

Eventually she gave me a potion that she said would help with the pain, which was coming back more and more, with a vengeance. What Madam Pomfrey _didn't_ tell me was that it would also make me sleep.

Every thing went black.

A/N: What do you think? Should I continue the story? The whole spider-burned hand thing has been in my head for AGES and I just had to write it down. The more reviews the more I'm encouraged to continue if you like it!


	2. And Then I Got High

**And Then I Got High**

A/N: This chapter's kinda unlike the one before it. It gets pretty silly near the end. I apologize if that's not what you are looking for/ expecting, but it's what popped into my brain after a long bout of writers block, so I went with it. It also feels sorta rushed, so I may edit it later on, but I really wanted to get it up online. Sorry.

This time when I woke up, it was Ron who was sitting with me, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Oh! Hermione, you're awake! Good, um, okay, so, listen," he fumbled, when he saw I was awake; "I can't even _say_ how sorry I am that I hurt you. But I'm so, SO sorry! I was an impulsive idiot, i know, and-"

I cut him off, "Yes Ronald, you _were_ an impulsive idiot, but at least you've been able to figure that much out."

I was being harsh and cruel, I know, but I was in pain, and I wasn't exactly in a good mood. But I still regretted saying all that as soon as I saw the look on Ron's face. He looked absolutely devastated, and remained silent.

"Oh Ron" I exclaimed, "I didn't mean it, I'm sorry, it's just my hand hurts, and i just woke up, and-" Now it was Ron's turn to interupt.

"S'okay Hermione, you're right anyway. McGonnagle was furious. She gave a months detention and I can't use magic outside of the classroom for 3 weeks. My mum's furious too, sent me a howler when she found out," Ron grimaced at the memory.

"But hey, your hand, right, I'll go get madam Pomfrey and Harry. He's taking a shower, I think. Really he's been here whenever he hasn't had class or quidditch practise."

He rose from his seat as he spoke, and left the room, leaving me without a distraction from the pain. A little while later, Madam Pomfrey arrived, followed by a worried looking Harry, who rushed to my side.

"Oh gosh Hermione, I meant to be here when you woke up, but Madam Pomfrey kicked me out, she told me I smelt after having practise, and then Ron only just told me. . ." Harry scowled as he mentioned Ron's name. "I still can't _believe_ he did that to you! What an idiot, only Ron could possibly be that impulsive and- " At this, Madam Pomfrey interrupted;

"Mr. Potter, not that your tirade against Mr. Weasley isn't interesting, I must talk to ." Turning towards me, she continued,

"Now, although the potions i have been giving you are helping you with the pain somewhat, I know that they cannot completely get rid of it. However, Professor Snape had been working on a new painkilling potion before he died, which I believe could take the pain away completely."

At this, I brightened, but before I could say anything, Madam Pomfrey continued; "Now, before you get too excited, you should know that it's only been tested for safety; we know that it works very well, and has no adverse health effects, but we don't know how it would effect your mind. It could cause depression, euphoria, something in between, or nothing at all."

As she spoke, Harry got more and more agitated until he couldn't contain his thoughts any further, and exclaimed, "WHAT? You can't honestly be saying you want to use Hermione as some sort of - of _guinea pig_? "

"Harry!" I interjected, "You know Madam Pomfrey wouldn't suggest it if she didn't think it was a good idea, and besides, at this point, I'll try _anything_." Looking at the healer, I continued, "Madam Pomfrey, if it's okay, I'd like to try the potion as soon as I can. It's" I paused, "it's getting sorta bad again."

As spoke, Harry must have noticed the beads of sweat that were on my forehead, because I could see him get much more worried looking.

"Hermione?" He asked tentatively, taking my uninjured hand.

"I'll be fine Harry, it's just, the idea of no more pain is very appealing."

"Alright Ms. Granger, I shall go fetch some of the potion right now, I made some up this morning." Madam Pomfrey said as she bustled away.

Moments later, she returned, holding a vial of purple liquid, which she handed to me.

I immediately drank it. And made a face. Like most potions, it tasted awful.

"It shouldn't make you drowsy," Said Madam Pomfrey, "And now I must go attend to some other patients, some pixies escaped from their cages and attacked a second year class. Don't worry though, I've placed monitoring spells on you, and Mr. Potter here doesn't seem inclined to leave you alone, so I think you'll be okay. Let me know if you need anything."

Saying that, the healer left the curtained off area that separated me from the rest of the infirmary.

Suddenly my hand stopped hurting, and I exclaimed; "Harry! It's gone! The pain!"

Then I started feeling even better, and different, my head got sorta cloudy, and I became really relaxed.

"Oh Harry, this potion is wonderful, it's making me feel SOO much better!"

"Really Hermione? That's great! Um, so, are there any, um, side effects so far? I mean I know you only _just_ took it, but still. . ." Harry said.

"The only side effect is awesomeness." I stated.

Harry gaped at me. I'd never used a word like 'awesomeness' before in my entire life.

Suddenly there was something I realized I desperately needed to tell Harry.

"Harry. Do you know something?" I asked.

Before he could answer I continued,

"You're great, man. I mean it. _Really _great. Like. Literally. You're probably the coolest dude ever. I mean. You totes saved the world. Although, Ron and I _did_ help, so I guess we're pretty awesome as well.

Also: Neville. He helped. Merlin, I LOVE that kid. Don't you?" I was rambling. But it was about things that, at the time, seemed very important to say.

"Yeah, he's great…" Harry replied, a bit confused I suppose by my sudden change.

"But yeah," I continued, "You're like, Harry _freakin' _ Potter!"

Harry stared.

Suddenly, I looked down at my hands, and held up my uninjured one.

"Hey, Harry, dude." I started, "look at my hand for a sec. It's like. _AMAZING. _Do you ever think, like, how awesome it is that we can like, control our hands, _with our MINDS? _That shit's intense Harry," I added seriously.

Suddenly Harry seemed to realize something, and said, "Hermione! You're - You're _stoned! That's_ what the unknown side effect is! This potion makes you high! You're stoned out of your mind!"

With that, he started laughing. Hard.

Then I started laughing. Really hard. I'm not sure why, but the situation was hilarious to me. Although, I honestly think pretty much anything would have been hilarious to me at that time.

Abruptly I stopped.

"Harry James Potter, I am _not_ high. Hermione Granger does _not_ get high. Although, I _am _kinda hungry. . ." That started me giggling again.

Harry laughed again.

"I believe that is known as "the munchies" Hermione. I'll go get you some food."

Chuckling to himself, Harry left, just as Madam Pomfrey entered.

She took one look at my laughing form and said, "Ah, I see the potion worked. And as for any side effects, I've been looking through Professor Snape's notes and it appears as though they wear off about an hour after taking each dose of the potion, which you will have to take around twice a day. Alright?

Ms. Granger? Ms. Granger? I do believe you can stop laughing now Ms. Granger."


End file.
